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To the editor: There was a political cartoon in Tuesday’s paper that had a mean looking elephant with “thought police” written across its front shirt. The mean elephant was depicted as scowling at a kid looking at bare library shelves.
The kid said, “I wonder why they banned George Orwell’s anti-totalitarian book 1984?” The mean elephant says, “Hands up! You are under arrest for thought crimes!”
I am pretty sure this cartoonist is well aware that the objections that parents’ groups are having over school library books are not about the novel “1984.” (In fact, this book should be required reading for all people.) The disputes are about graphic sex novels and guides being provided to children.
When I went to school, many years ago, there were no graphic sex novels and “how-to sex guides” in the school and public libraries. There was universal agreement on this. No one of any political persuasion was advocating for this. What has changed?
There was a recent kerfuffle in the MatSu public library about a sex guide purportedly for teens that was in cartoon format and available for all ages. The book included graphic images of sex and advocated that teens access porn on the internet because it is supposedly a “fun sugary treat,” and a “safe place.” The book advocated for girls to take photos of their genitals and gave instructions on how to send these “naughty masterpieces around the world.” It also enthusiastically endorsed phone sex, anal sex and one-night stands “without the messy relationship stuff.” And of course, “virginity is a silly word.”
There was a time when no sane, reasonable person would have promoted this harmful garbage to children. Now the people who object to this evil are hypocritically and falsely accused of “authoritarianism.” If that were true, why did the cartoonist have to lie? Why didn’t he have the kid asking why graphic sex novels and sex guides were being banned? Because he wanted to spread hate, not truth. It reminds me of the hate propaganda that authoritarians use to smear their enemies.
Robin Barrett
Fairbanks
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